1721 was the year that Pierre Jacquet Droz was born. It was nearly inevitable that he would become a watchmaker because he was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland. He studied theology, physics, mathematics and horology over the years of his education. He finally settled purely on horology in 1738. Droz opened his first workshop in the famous La Chaux-de-Fonds where he was born.
In 1758, Droz famously made a 49 day trip to Spain by request of the governor of Neuchatel. The purpose of this trip was to showcase his talents to none other than King Ferdinand VI. His talent was immediately recognized and the showcase was extremely successful. Droz became admired all over the world and King Ferdinand purchased his entire collection for his palaces.
With the money that Droz made during the Spain trip, him and his two sons opened workshops in London. In 1774, the Chinese Emperor became one of his biggest clients due to his new collections being designed for the Chinese market. In 1784, he becomes even more famous and busy due to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette purchasing his pieces.
Pierre Droz passed away in the late 1700’s, but the legacy continued. His two sons took over the business and continued to flourish without him. Nowadays, however, Jacquet Droz is owned by the Swatch Group. The group continues to use traditional watchmaking techniques so that the name can maintain it’s original, traditional glory.
Damn, I was just about to write the same article! Beat me to it…You did it better than I would have anyways :p